Tension device for wire fences.



No. 669,050. J. T. SWARTZ.

Tsusmu nsvlcs Fonwm's Fences.

(Lpplitiun Mod June 16,1900.)

Patented nu. 2s, ism.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES THOMPSON SWARTZ, OF NEBRASKA CITY, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES A. VAN PELT, OF SAME PLACE.

TENSION DEVICErv FOR WIRE FENCES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 669,050, dated February 26, 1901.

Application led June 16, 1900. Serial No. 20,576. (No model() To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, JAMES THOMPSON SWARTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nebraska City, in the county of Otoe and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Tension Device for Wire Fences, of which the following is a speciiication.

My present invention relates to a novel device for retaining Wire stringers upon the fence-posts and under tension. In order that the utility underlyingthe device may he more readily apparent it may be stated that ordinarily one mileof wire fencing composed of twelve wires or stringers with posts ten feet apart requires live hundred and twentyeight'posts, at least one thousand three hundred and eighty feet of post-holes, and six thousand three hundred and thirty-six staples, the driving of the staples alone requiring the services of two men from eight to ten days, and as a coil of wire is usually about forty rods long eight double-,braced parts are usually employed and are, in fact, absolutely necessary, as such a post must be provided at every forty rods or at the ends of the continuous strands or stringers, inasmuch as these end posts must maintain the linear strain of this one mile of fence, the stapled intermediate posts serving merely to sustain the weight of the Wires and to assist in the maintenance of their proper alinement. From this it will appear that the construction of a wire fence in the ordinary manner is costly, because of the vast number of posts required and the necessity for the employment of wire-stretchers and the like; but even with this considerable investment in laborand material an unsatisfactory fence is produced, for the reason that the tensile strength of the wire is not uniform, and the Wires of certain of the panels will therefore sag, while certain other of the Wires, both in the same and other panels, will be on the point of breaking, assuming that the several wires have been drawn up simultaneously by a Wire-stretcher. Furthermore, it is Well understood by those skilled in the art that the variations of temperature incident to the change of seasons will produce contraction and expansion of Wire employed in fence constructions between five and six feet to the mile. When staples and similar devices are employed for retaining the Wire upon the numerous posts, this contraction and expansion of the stringers gradually removes the tension produced primarily, and in some instances, assuming the Wire to be rigidly held, causes the wire to break by reason of the tendency to contraction being greater than lthe tensile strength of the strand, which latter is frequently exceedingly weak where the annealing has been more or less imperfect.

The objects of this invention, therefore, are to provide simple and inexpensive wireretaining devices which will insure the maintenance of a proper tension, regardless of the number of posts employed or of the demands of contraction and expansion due to variations of temperature, by the employment of which the linear strain of all of the wires or stringere may be equalized and maintained alike by the posts in aline of fence, by means of which the number of posts may be greatly reduced, -by which loose strands or sections of strands may be quickly tightened to reproduce the primary tension, which will enable a fence to be constructed with a saving of both material and labor and Without the use of wire-stretchers, staples, or the like, and which will produce a tension of suiiicient power and so equally distributed throughout the entire extent of fence that the disalinement of the latter will be a practical impossibility.

To the accomplishment of these several objects my invention consists in providing upon each fence-post a lag-screw, around which is wound a portion of the Stringer or wire strand and which detachably supports a steel spring key or tension device engaging the wire at one or both sides of the screw and retaining it deflected to produce the necessary strain or tension, which, however, when exceeding a predetermined strain-as, for instance, under the iniuence of contraction-- Will bend the spring tension device, which when the excess of strain is removed Will spring back to its normal position, said tension device serving in this manner to permit the necessary contraction and expansion of the Wire, while maintaining a normal tension thereon.

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In its preferred embodiment the invention consists in certain other details of construction and arrangement, all of Which will more fully appear hereinafter.

Referring` to the accompanying drawings, employed to illustrate the subject-matter of the succeeding description, Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a fence-post, illustrating the construction and arrangement of the preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modi- 'ied form of invention; and Fig. 3 is a View of still another modification, this lastnamed construction being adapted with particular reference to the maintenance of proper tension on a guy or anchor Wire. Fig. el is a detail View of the lag-screw.

Referring to the numerals of reference employed to designate corresponding parts in the several views, 1 indicates a fence-post, and 2 a lag-screw or \vireretaining member having a shank 3 screwed into the post and a squared head having a diametrical slot or recess 5 in its face, and between which and the shank is located a spool or drum 6.

7 indicates a Wire stringer extending from adjacent posts and passed through the slot or recess 5 in the head of the screiv. Assuming that the wire has been secured to the adjacent posts, a wrench is applied to the head 4 of the screw 2, and the latter is rotated the desired ext-ent to take up the slack and produce a slight tension upon those portions of the strand 7 lying at opposite sides of the post l. This movement of the screw is ordinarily a little more than one complete revolution to cause the opposed sections of the wire 7 to be wound in opposite directions upon the spool o' and to cause them to extend in opposite directions in lines tangential to said spool, as shown in Fig. 1. The tension device or spring S is then passed into the slot or recess 5, so that its opposite ends will extend radially from the head of the lag-screwr at diametrically opposite points and will engage the adjacent portions of the Wire 7 to cause sufficient deflection in opposite directions of those portions of the strands disposed at opposite sides of the post 1 to produce the necessary tension upon the adjacent panelsections of the wire.

For the purpose of facilitating the engagement of the spring 8 with the stringer or wire 7 said spring is bent at its opposite ends in opposite directions,and these right-angularlydisposed extremities are recurved to lform oppositely-disposed terminal wire-engaging hooks E) and l0, which take over or under the wire 7, as the case may be, to elevate it ordepress it above or below the position which said wire would assume in passing to the periphery of the spool were it not for the deflection caused by said spring. Thus the Wire 7 will be held under tension; but the exertion ot' any tensile force which under other circumstances would break the Wire will bend the ends of the spring 8, the resistance of which is less than the tensile strength of the wire.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings I have shown a modification of my invention, which modiiication consists in Winding the wire 7 upon the spool in a manner to have the immediately-adjacent portions of the strand extend from the same peripheral point of said spool and in providii'ig a substantially baitshaped spring supported at its middle upon one of the edge faces of the head L and having terminal hooks 11 and 12 opening in the same direction and engaging the wire to deflect it and to sustain the major portions of the panels or panel-sections of said wire in a horizontal plane piercing the axis of the lag- SClGYV.

In Fig. 3 I have shown still another modification comprehending a tension-spring 13, bent into substantial U shape and having its ends provided With oppositeiy-disposed terminal hooks 14 and 15, designed toengage an anchor-Wire 1G at slightly-separated points and to deflect a short section of said wire by the force exerted through the tendency of the ends of the spring 13 to separate. It will be observed that in each of these several forms of my invention the primary idea is,the production of a device uponwliich the wire may be Wound to take up slack at both sides of the post and a tension device which will yieldingly retain the immcdiately-adjacent portions of the Wire slightly deiected to produce a tension at all times uniform, but which Will yield to permit the contraction of the Wire under changes of temperature.

From the foregoing it will appear that I have produced a device by means of which the various objects of my invention may be attained; but while I have illustrated the construction and arrangement of parts which appears at this time to be preferable I do not Wish to limit myself to the structural details dened, as many variations both of construction and arrangement may be effected Withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a fence-post and a Wire-retaining element extended therefrom and provided with adiametrically-slotted end face and a spool-shaped portion, of a Wire passed through the slot in the head and wound upon the spool, a tension-spring supported at its middle upon the retaining element with its opposite end portions out of. alinement with the Wire and having its opposite extremities engaging the Wire to hold the same deflected and subject it to a spring tension which will exert a constant tendency to take up the slack in the Wire.

2. The combination With a fence-post and a Wire-retaining element extended therefrom and provided With a diametrically-slotted end face and a spool-shaped portion, of a Wire passed through the slot in the head and Wound upon the spool, a tension-spring supported at its middle upon the retaining element out IOO IIO

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'of alinement with the wire and having its opposite extremities engaging the Wire at opposite sides of the retaining device to hold the wire deflected at opposite sides of its point of attachment to the post and to subject said wire to a spring tension which will exert a constant tendency to take up the slack in the wire.

3. The combination with a fence-post, of a lag-screw provided with a diametrically-slotted squared head and having a spool-shaped portion in the rear of said head, of a fencewire passed through the slot in the head and wound upon the spool the adjacent portions of said wire extending from the periphery of the spool in opposite directions and at diametrically opposite points, a tension-spring retained at its center within the slotted head of the lag-screw and having terminal hooks engaging the Wire at opposite sides of the lag-screw to hold said wire deilected and to subject it to a constant spring tension produced by the resiliency of the body portion of the spring for the purpose of preventing the post from being subjected to abnormal strains under the contraction of the wire and to exert a constant tendency to take up the slack of said wire to prevent the slacking of the 'fence under the expansion of the fencewires.

4. The combination with a fence-post and a rotary wire retaining element extended therefrom, of a Wire connected to and wound upon the retaining element, and a reactive tension device likewise supported by the retaining element and having its extremities out of alinement with the wire and engaging the latter to hold the same delected and to subject it to a tension which will exert a constant tendency to take up the slack in the wire.

5. The combination with a fence-post and a rotary retaining element extended therefrom, of a wire connected to the retaining element and designed to be wound thereon, and a tension spring likewise supported at its middle upon the retaining element and having its end portions out of alinement with the wire to hold the latter deflected and to subject it to a spring tension which will exert a constant tendency to take up the slack in the wire.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES THOMPSON SWARTZ.

Witnesses:

J AMES C. SPEAR, FRANK P. MCCARTNEY. 

